System of power transmission.



E. A. SPEBRY. SYSTEM OF POWER TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.9| 1903.

1,1 36,058. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

3 SHBETSEHEET 1.

55 a 3110011 tor 7 rm E. A. SPERRY.

SYSTEM OF POWER TRANSMISSION. APPLICATION FILED MAR.9.1903.

1,136,058. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. A. SPERRY.

SYSTEM 0F-POWE R TRANSMISSION. APPLICATION FILED MAR.9| 1903.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

accompanied by drawings. k

, u' l S TES PATE OFFICE.

nnmnn A. srnnnv, or CLEVELAND, ,oHIo, ASSIGNOR, BY YMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro

AMERICAN ELECTRIC AND coN'rnonLEncoin-A Y, A CORPORATION OF'DELA- I SYSTEM 'orrownn TRANSMISSION.

Specification of 1. mm iatent- P t t 20, 19 5 To all whom it may concern Be it known thatL ELMER A. SPERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of Power Transmlssion, of which the following is a specification,

My invention-relates to systems of power transmission, more particularly to systems for the electrical transmission of power;

and the object of my invention is to improve upon such. apparatus for this purpose, whereby translating devices may be readily and efficiently controlled, and power-transmitted thereto by improved means.

Further objects of my invention will hereinafter appear, and to these ends my inven- :tion consists in circuits and apparatus for carrying out, the above objects, constructed and arranged and havin the general mode.

of operation substantia y as hereinafter fully described and shown in this specification and accompanying drawings in whichv Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying my invention; Fig.2 is a transverse sectional view on the line w'w of Fig. -1; Fig. 3 is 'an outside elevation ofthe'apparatus; and Fig. 4 is a .diagrammatic View of circuits and apparatus embodied in my invention.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 the construction of an interrupter is fully shown which may be used in connection with my improved system of power transmission, although any suitable form of interrupter or circuit making and breaking device may be used whereby the circuit may berapidly made and broken. 7 I l In the form of device illustrated in Fig. 1 and in the other drawings, the circuit -mak: ing and I breaking device is shown inclosed within a suitable casing B which may a conductor and utilized to form one terminal of the circuit leading to the interrupter.

Within the casingIsolid conductorsC and.

- fluid conductors are shown movable re1a- -tively to each other, in this mstancethe the form of one or more nozzles fvision for forcinga conducting fluid there- 7 Application ,flled March 9, 1903. Serial No. 147,028.

to the lower nozzle F and through ranged in the form of substantially cylin- "drical plates having points D whereby nonconducting intervals are provided on the conducting portions of the plates. I

The construction of the apparatus described is suitable and convenient for the ends in view,,and as shown a central shaft G is provided with a bearing 'K at the bottom of the casing within a liquid receptacle E, while another bearing is provided for the shaft within the cover. L of the apparatus, an insulating plug M being shown'surround- 'ing the shaft to insulate it from the casing;

Connected to the shaft are means for rais-' ing theconductingfluid which may be contained in the receptacle, this means bein shown as a screw-threaded conve or adapted to rotate with said shaft the nozzles F are 'adjustably connected as =l() y means of set screws Q to the. rotary shaft able rods W provided with insulating sleeves Y, and these plates and conductors may be raised or lowered by means of a screwwhile The conductors C are adjustable rela-' 'tively 'to thenozzles and are suitably supported upon insulated plates T and U, which plates" are connected to each other by suitthreaded rod Z suitably secured in' the cover Land provided with a handle I) for rotating the same, so that rotation of'the rodZ will cause the plate U to move'upwardly and downwardly on the screw-threaded ortion'l completing circuit thereto. By raising and lowering the conductors C. asdescribed, it will be seen that the duration of the contact of the stream upon the conductors may being3 imparted to the central shaft Gr and suit 1e ectrical connections-being made-as be varied for longer or shorter portions of" the points D will be'broughtopposite the orifices of the nozzles F, and the intervals of time during which the stream or streams of conducting fluid will, impinge upon the impinge upon the conductors C, thereby is connected in circuit with the motor, the.

current of which circuit is to be interrupted by the apparatus, and which motor is to in turn drive the apparatus, in order to start the same some means must be provided for giving an'initial impulse to the appa-' ratus to cause the initial flow of conducting 16 fluid, in order that the circuit to the .motor may be initially completed and the motor started, and when it is started the motor will then continue 'to drive the interrupter.-;'

In orderthat an initial impulse may be given to the apparatus for forcing a stream of fluid uponthe conductor, any suitable means may be provided, but in this instance I haveshown a pinion 1 on the shaft G and a segmental rack 2. connectedto a slotted arm 3 'pivoted'on the plate L at 4, and normally'held against the stop 5' by a suitable spring 6: In orderto start the apparatus, the handle 7 is swung about the pivot 4, "thereby carrying the jsegmental'rack 2 into engagement with the'pinion 1, and by sweeping said rack-past said, pinion aninitial rotary motion or spin will be given to the shaft G, thereby starting 'theflow of conducting fluid and causing it to impinge upon 130 the conductor or conductors C. to complete I the circuit to the motor after which,'it being assumed that the motor is connected to drlve the apparatus as shown in vFigs; 1

and '4, the interrupter will be operated by the rotation of the motor.- The slotted spring pressed arm- 3 may] be drawn outpinion when. the arm 3 is returned to the V "position shown, the slot permitting] such 40 movement of the arm. Means are provided for leading circuit wiresto the interrupter at suitable points, as shown the circuit wires being preferably led through apertures in the casing B to contact' 'screws on the conductor C, and means are also provided for.

leading a conducting wire to the casin' 'B which as stated is in circuit with the uid conductor. Any suitable conducting fluid or liquid may be used mere havm b ound suitable as a li j i g r Y Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, G represents a suitable generator, or source of supply for electricflcurrent, of which s'represents theffield winding, and while there may be anysuitable number of such gener- V ators connected in circuit, I have shown. but .one, the circuit being'branched from one of the brushes of the generator, and the circuit comprising three branches 9, 10 andll, be-

tween two of which, as 10 and 11,.suitable lights may beconnected'as well asthe field w nd ngs-12 and .13 of the motors 14,. the armature circuits vof-whichv are connected between the points 15' and 16, and 17 and 18 66' respectively on the wires 9 and 10, so that it maybe a variable 'speed motor. the-disk 22 is provided with a clutch memproximately balanced byja spring 26. and

will be. seen that the field windings 121 and 13 derive their energy from-separate circuits from those which supply current to the armatures of the motors 14. It will be understood that there may be any number of 70 motors or other translating devices connected as described,-and taking the circuits of one motor it will be seen that a current interrupter which will be designated as B is connected in circuit with the armature of the motor together with a starting rheostat 19, while a suitablecondenser i is connected to reduce sparking at the interrupter. In the present instance I have shown the interrupteras operated by the-motor, in the ar-- 3 A starting device for this motor,independent of the circuit of the interrupter itself. Further,' I provide mechanical. connections be-- s5 tween the motor and the interrupter whereby the periodicity of the action of the inter-' rupter can be varied. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the motor shaft 20 is provided with a friction disk 21 engaging with a friction disk 22 carried by the shaft G of the interrupter, and means are provided for moving the disk 22 across the disk 21 whereby the shaft G maybe driven at variable speeds, Q and the speed of rotation of the nozzles F- carried by the shaft may be 'varied independently of the speed of the motor which As shown,

her 23 adapted toengage with a clutch memof a-groove 25 andinternal feather on member 24. Said. clutch member 24 is movable longitudinally of the shaft G as'is the disk 22 andclutch member 23, and suitable means In order that the'disk 22 maybe main- .tained in any given position on'the shaft longitudinally of the same, any "suitable means may be provided. In this instance the weight'of the parts of the clutch is apthe friction of the venous bearings, as for instance at the pivot 27,'is made of such amount that a suitable amount of force is vnecessary to move the parts from any position in which they are placed;- When the 125 apparatus is to be started, theclutch member, 24 may be moved downwardly out, of

engagement with the clutch member 23 an v an initial impulse be given to the shaft G c 10C ber 24 rotatable with the shaft G by means 'wardly so that the rack'will'not engage the vice hereinbefore described. The member 24 bein 'unclutched from the member 22,

only su cient force isnecessary for the ini tial impulse to set theinterrupter in rotation. If this unclutching had not been efl'ected, sufi'icient force would be required not only to set the interrupter in rotation,

- but also to start the motor 14 through the friction members, 21 and 22. The member 22 is prevented from follcwin the member 24 in its downward movement y its friction against the'disk 21 which'just before start-' ing is stationary. The interrupter having been set in rotation, the clutch member 24 may be drawn upwardly into engagement with the member 23 and the motor being started, as will be hereinafter described, ro tation of the interrupterwill be maintained.

When the motor connected as shown is to be operated as a constant speed motor and it is desired to preserve the relations of the speed of the motor and that of the interrupter, or in other words, preserve the periodicity of the action of the, interrupter, the clutch members and the wheel 22 may be adjusted in any desired relation to the disk 21 and be retained in this relation by means of the set screw 31. I

Various ways of starting the motor may be used and I have shown an electric start-.

ing device for the motor which is independ ent of the circuit of the interrupter and have utilized a rheostat 19 and circuits connected therewith, as shown, the operation of which will now be described. The current passes by means of wire 32 .to contact arm 33 of rheostat 19, and assuming that contact arm 33 is resting upon one of the contacts 34, current will pass through the resistance 35 and by'wire 36 to and through the motor,

, and from thence to the negative lead and back to the generator G", The motor will then start up and the clutch member 24 being thrown into engagement with the clutch member 23, rotation will be imparted to the interrupter, whereby contact will be made between the continuous stream. of fluid ejected from the nozzles and the conductor .0. It is then desirable to exclude the rheo- .moved across contacts 34 to' rest upon insulatedcontact 37 ,whereby current will then pass from wire 32 by wire 38 to one of the conductors C of the interrupter, while current will'also pass, by means of a branch wire 39 to the other conductor C of the interrupter, circuit .being completed from thence by means of the fluid to. the casing B and by a wire 40 to the point 41 on wire 36, the circuit being completed from thence through the armature of the motor and to the negativejlead. The condenser 11 isshown connected across the interrupter in such manner as to. counteract the effects of inductance in The greatest inductance being in the field of a motor,'it will be seenthat it ispreferable to place the interrupter as shown in Fig.

I 4, in series with the armature,-and the condenser beingconnected across the interrupter greatly reduces sparking by the usual action of balancing the inductance of the armature. The condenser it will be seen balances, not

- only the inductance of the motor armature,

but also that portion of the inductance of the generator armature G which its fluctuations affect. Inasmuch as the balance for .a given condenser on to 'a given inductance I is a factor of its periodicity, it is desirable to have the periodicity constant with a constantcondenser, and as according to the con-, struction shown the interrupter is operated from the shaft of a variable speed motor,

the variable speed transmission gear is provided varying the periodicity of the interrupter; in other words, the motor speed may be varied as desired, but the periodicity of the interrupter may always be thrown into step with the condenser to reduce sparking.

It will'also be seen that according'to the arrangements of circuits and apparatus as with the arrangement shown the motor can be started by manually. operating the interrupter so as to close, the circuit of the armature of the motor, which motor after it has started, automatically operates the interrupter. Again the motor may be started by the use of a separate or branchcircuit including a starting rheostat and switch, and

after the motor is thus started, the rheostat is cut out of circuit. .By adjusting the relation between the conductors and nozzles of the interrupter, the duration of contact ofthe make relative to the break in the circuit may be varied. So, 'too, by adjusting the connection between the driving motor, which 11 in the case shown is the translating device to which current is supplied, and the interrupter, the periodicity of the make and break device may be controlled.

Obviously some'features of my invention may be used without others, and my invention may be embodied in widely varying forms,'ther.efore without limiting myself to.

'the construction shown and described nor enumerating equivalents, I claim and desire to obtain by LettersPatent the following 1'. The combination with a-motor, of an interrupter connected in circuit with the armature only of'the motor .for rapidly and continuo'usly making and, breaking the circuit 9 '45 duce sparking at the interrupter, and means thereof while said interrupter is active and I operated by said motor, means for increasing and decreasing the duration of the make relative to the break in the circuit of said armature, and a capacity connected to counteract the efl'ects of the inductance of the circuit, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a motor, an interrupter constructed to be connected in circuit therewith, a starting rheostat, and circuits and connections for starting the motor with forth.

4. The combination with a motor, of a device connected to rapidly make and break the whereby the current is first switched'to' the 6Q through the armature circuit of said' motor at all times during the operation of said motor, means for driving said make and break device from the motor, and means for increasing and decreasing the periodicity of the make and break device without change in the speed of the motor, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a variable speed motor, a rotary make and break device included in circuit therewith and connected to be. 9

-of power, the combmatlon with a source of driven by the motor, a capacity connected to reduce sparking at the make and break device, and means for varying the periodicity of said device independently of the speed of the motor, substantlally as set forth.

.6. The combination of a variable speed motor, a rotary circuit interrupter connected in series with the armature and driven by the motor, a condenser connected to res for throwing the interrupter into step with the. condenser irrespective of the speed of v the motor, "subsantially asset forth. 50

7. The combination of a variable speed motor, an interrupter in circuit therewith and drrventhereby, a capacity connected "across-the interrupter, ,and means for varying the'periodicity of the interrupter to accord with that of the condenser, substantially as set forth.

8. The combinatlon of a motor, a circuit interrupter and a rheostat, and fmeans motor through" the rheostat and .then

jforth. I

9. The combination of a motor, a circuit interrupter andfa rheostat, and circuits and connections .whereby i the current is first interrupter, substantially as set' switched to the motor around the interrupter -driven by the motor .and included inthe motor-circuit, and variable speed gearing between the motor and the interrupter, whereby the periodicity of the interrupter may be varied, and a capacity for reducing sparking at the interrupter, substantially as set forth.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination with a translating device adapted to be connected in circuit with a source of current supply, of means in said circuit and actuated by said device for rapidly making and breaking the circuit of the translating device while the latter operates including a container adapted to contain a conducting fluid, said fluid and container constituting a part of the" circuit.

' 12. In a system of electrical transmission of power, the combination with a source of supply, of two circuits leading therefrom, a motor the field magnet of which is in one circuit and the armature of which is in the other circuit, means operated by said motor as i for continuously interrupting the armature circuit, said field circuit being independent of the interrupting means, and means for varying the periodicity of said interrupter, substantially as set forth.

13. In a system Of' elac'trical transmission cuit therewith and connected-to be driven by the motor, means for varying the speed of the interrupter without variation in the speed of the motor, said interrupter comprising aconductor having non-conducting .r'.

intervals and apparatus for forcing a con-.

tinuous stream of conducting fluid. on said 1 conductor, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination of a variable speed motor, a circuit interrupter connected in circuit therewith and connected to be driven by the motor, means for varying the speed of speed of the motor, said interrupter comthe interrupter without variation in the.

intervals and apparatus for-forcing a continuous stream of conducting fluid on said r conductor, and means for. counterac setforth.

motor,'- a circuit interrupter jcol'm I circuit therewith and connected to be driven I by .the motor, said' interrupter comprising a a conductor having non-conducting. intervals the inductance. of the circuit, substanti a yas 1 16. The combination ofa variable i i and" apparatus for" forcinga vcontinuous v stream of conducting fluid on said -con- "ductor, means ior counteracting the-inducuidto upon said; conductor and pumping device being revoluble relatively to, other, j substa ntherefrom, athird conductor connected to denser connected to'reduce sparking at the interrupter, and means for varying the p0 ,riodicit of theinterrupter to accord with the big estefiiciency of the condenser, sub stantially as setforth. a 19. In a system of electrical transmission of power, the combination with a source of supply, of a pair of conductors connected to one pole thereof and extending to a distance theother' pole and constituting a common return for each of said first named-conductors, a motor having its annature'cone nected between one ofsaid conductors and common return, and means for rapidly and continuously interrupting such armature circuit, the field of said motor. bein connected across the otherof said con uctors and common return, whereby variations of current in the armature circuit will exert 50 a minimum disturbing'efiect. on the field circuit.

' In' whereof Iehave-signed my name-to thiswspecification in the presence of two subscribing w tnesses. I a

, "ELMER SPERRY; 

